Jim! No - I don't know him - though I've passed his place plenty of times. The hard thing to find is 4.5x5 in a 14" down here - I've checked the Hereford Wrecking Yard, Tire Guy in Bisbee, Car Guys in Bisbee, a couple wrecking yards in Tucson, and Ralph's out off of Hwy 90. I'm not the type to just notice old cars in a guys yard and stop in! LOL - I've known plenty of guys who are a little stand-offish about that kind of behavior! Greg - I was looking to just run the stock wheels for now - and the hubcaps.
I got two 14 inch rims off my 60 Galaxie that are hours if you want them. They have tires on them and are located in Springfield Missouri. I have no need for them and would be happy to help you out.
Interesting read, great car! If you are thinking of going back to PS, and if your Edsel's steering box is the same as a Ford, there are a few modern PS box conversions out there. Might be easier than sourcing the vintage PS parts...
After much hemming and hawing - I decided to stick with what I have. I realized that the wheels I have are a 2 and 2 mismatch. Two from late 50's / early 60's - and two late 60's. Instead of running the original "E" hubcaps - I'll just run some dog-dish style - repaint the rims - and run with it for now. I also placed an order for a new gas take from Bob Drake - but the online order says it's back-ordered. Am going to call tomorrow to see how long the back-orders take. Also searching for a PS setup. I think I may have found one out of state - will need to be rebuilt - but I'm expecting that! I did fire her up today and ran her off a Jerry can - sounds sweet - and with the weather getting nice - I'm getting antsy!
How much did that run you? Is it a custom build or are they in their catalog? The '59 Edsel sedan tanks aren't made by anyone currently.
I used later model Crown Vic 15" steel wheels on my ex's '59 Country Sedan. Some have nubs for dog dish caps, some do not. Also, from '79 to about '84, the square Crown Vics used a 14" steel wheel that will give you a nice stock look to the casual observer, but are superior to the original wheels. The '59 Country Sedan wheels I have in my garage only have one safety bead rather than two, and that was the biggest factor in switching to later wheels (besides the fact that the 15" wheels fit the proportions of these rather large wagons MUCH better).
I was lucky on my Yeoman wagon; the gas tank was in good shape. Good thing, too, as it is almost a U-shape. I cleaned it out and coated it myself with stuff from Eastwood. That was in the 90's, and it's still good. On my '41 Pontiac, I couldn't find a good tank, and they didn't seem to be making a repro, so I had a company near Rockford, IL clean it and recoat it inside and out. That fixed all the pinhole leaks. That was in the early 2000's; the tank has gas in it, but the car isn't on the road yet. I think it cost around $300 at the time. I think it might have been called Butista Bros., or something like that.
should the 59 ford or edsel wheels have the safety beads? Im not sure about mine since they have tires on them. rprice, i sent you a pm about your tank.
Hey All! Quick update - and pics upon arrival. I located a complete 1959 Ford PS system from an FE powered car - from pump to slave cylinder to tie rod ends - supposedly rebuilt. Considering the price was the same as another I had found that was just pulled from a greasy nasty car 35 years ago - I figured I couldn't go wrong. Well - I can - I would just have to rebuild the whole thing. Should be here tomorrow or Monday. Second - ordered the gas tank from Bob Drake. They have them in stock - so hopefully it'll be here in a week or so. Lastly - I ordered a set of "FORD" Dog Dish hubcaps. I know they aren't the "Edsel" type - but they're close. They're a sight better than these stupid Ford Truck ones on there. Greg - I am NOT a wheel guy. LOL! I don't even pretend to be. I plan on pulling the two rears (one stock one not) - having the old bias-ply tires removed and see what I have. I'll post pics on here this weekend. I also think my fuel pump filter is all full of junk from the old tank and may be clogged. The PO put it on new right before I bought it. I plan on cleaning that out and making sure it runs from a jerry can this weekend. The next projects are; new brakes...going to go dual cylinder modern style master cylinder with power booster - new wheel cylinders - soft lines - etc. Then welding a good mount up for the stock radiator - stupid PO cut most of the mount out - for that "too-small modern radiator" that was in the car when I got it. Someday I'll replace the whole thing but for now I just want to get this boat on the road.
your ahead of me on my wagon. keep it up, and i will try and catch ya. but i doubt that will happen on my part.
For every step I take forward - I have to take two back. So I finally got the rest of the wheels of - and put them side to side. Well surprise surprise! Only two are the same - and they are stock style 14" rims. The other two? One 14" later ford rim - and one 15" later ford rim. Tires on the car: 75/14 75/14 205/75/14 204/75/15 I think I'm getting back to needing two stock rims. The Ford hubcaps look ok - but they DO say "Ford" on them. meh Waiting for the pics to upload from my phone - will post later.
Here are the pics --- wheels 1 and 2 I think are stock --- 3 is more modern 14" and wheel 4 is the modern 15". The last pic shows a stock wheel with the "Dog dish" ford hubcaps.
The steering linkage, assist ram, and check valve came in yesterday - awaiting box 2 - pump and misc. Looks good so far. Nice and clean.
just noticed your photos of the power steering components.all very generic late 50's ford stuff for the most part.the cylinder ram mounts differently to the drag link compared to mustang (if memory serves correctly) but the rebuild parts are the same. if the control valve needs rebuilding,pay close attention to the brass socket inside it where the ball stud slides.it could possibly be badly pitted.
Thanks for the tip Edselfish~! Good news folks - got a few deliveries... Tank is here - as is the PS pump! Pump seems a bit stiff - but that's probably better than really loose!
How much did you spend on the tank, and did they have to make it special order, or do they have it on their list?
Thanks! As I'm sure you've heard, the '59 Edsel Ranger and the like tanks are not being reproduced and are VERY hard to come by. The one I eventually found to replace my old one was riddled with holes.
Thanks for the comment Dino! '59 Edsel - were you able to at least repair that tank? BTW - anyone who is wondering about whether or not it is worth shelling out the money for the Bob Drake tank - do NOT hesitate! That thing is beautiful! It also has two fuel pickup locations - one on the front of the tank (I assume this is possibly for the Rancheros) and one on the front left side (I assume for the Wagons). Also a few things have begun to dawn on me. All the "slop" I am experiencing in the current steering setup (PS - with slave and pump removed) is the check valve actuator. Here i thought it was all because of "slop and wear." The tie rods are very secure. Sheesh! I also do not yet know the condition of the "rebuilt" check valve - but now I have two to go with - and I did confirm the setup I bought is identical to the one on the car. Now --- where the heck can I get PS hoses for this setup? Wish I had time to fool with the Edsel today - but I have a laundry list of chores I need to get done!
I was able to repair it, for the sum of about $400. And the tank was still not perfect. The lining they put in it leached into the fuel and dyed it pink.
The Bob Drake tank i bought, like you said, was very nice. I am now ready to put my tank in. I think I will put some felt between the tank and body before i bolt it up. I had a guy rebuild a "check valve actuator" once for a 65 mustang i worked on once for my aunt. I cant remember now if he exchanged it or rebuilt it, but he was good to deal with and it worked great. I know on the mustangs the hose placement has to be just right, and since yours looks like the same thing I would make darn sure its all laid out right. But you do have a lot more room to work with LOL
Hey all - thanks for the replies! I've been swamped with other life projects lately but plan on tackling the Edsel again this weekend. Greg - your tank installation looks like it went smoothly - anything i should watch for? I still need to see about getting hoses for the steering setup. I may just swap over from the new setup what I am missing on the car currently. Next will be brakes. Going to go with the power booster setup from the later Fords - going to stick with Drum / Drum for now as I wanna get this beast on the road! Still stuck in "no wheel land." But I guess it doesn't matter as the car is non-mobile anyway without the tank. I did swap out the Arizona headlight buckets from the ones that came with the new grill as the steel was a lil toasty. At least the headlights sit in the buckets properly now! That grill was still a heck of a deal!
rprice, nothing special. I went to lowes and bought 3/8x 1 1/5, maybe 1 1/4, foam with the adhesive back. Then stuck it to the tank in a few strips, and also put it under the straps. I have never done this before on any tank, it just seemed like the thing to do this time. Maybe because I had to patch the spare tire well and was afraid of a rough spot rubbing the tank. I happen to have a long 3/8 carrage bolt that I heated and bent the top of it for the drivers side strap. I just hung the tank, then put in the filler neck, then installed the sender. actually it went pretty smooth. I am using manual drums on mine . I will have my master tomorrow, but like you said, I have 2 days of mulching flower beds first.LOL
I also bought a 25' roll of 5/16 easy bend brake line for my fuel line. I havent had it out of the box yet but will post on my thread how it went.
Hi guys, sorry for OT but since some of you are Villager owners like myself, I wonder if you have any clue where to get rubber seals for both the lower and the upper tail gates or what universal weather strips to use? Mine are so dry they are falling apart... Cheers // Mats
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